Dunham made the comment on last week's episode of her "Women Of The Hour" podcast while talking about a self-realization. She said that even though she speaks against stigmatizing abortion, she found herself saying adamantly that she had never had one when she was asked to be part of a project involving women discussing their abortions. In reference to this contradiction, she said: "Now I can say that I still haven't had an abortion, but I wish I had."

The comment drew criticism online.

On Tuesday, the "Girls" star apologized on Instagram for what she called "a distasteful joke." She said she "would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy."